Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1968, Qupperneq 95

More on Faroese Bird Names
103
bird’s habit of striking the water with its feet as it skims
over the waves searching for the surface-living organisms upon
v/hich it feeds. The name will, of course, have been bestowed
by fishermen who met tthe bird out at sea.
Fa. buka has an exact correspondence solely in Norwegian
(cf. A. Torp, Nynorsk etymologisk Ordbok), but is not known
from the medieval language. Further, bird names ending in
derivative -ari are very rare; only two others have been no-
ticed: glibbari (Hestur, obsolete) ‘young shag’, of. No. ghbba
‘sluge i sig’, and jarmari (Sandoy) ‘great shearwater’ lit.
‘bleater’ (jarma ‘bleat’). Such names are all local and presum-
ably rather recent; certainly the formation is not medieval in
the case of bird names. For these reasons it is pointless to
speculate on possible affinity between Fa. bukari and Scots
bouger, etc.
Gjør, better Gjøðr
One would like to amend the spelling gjør ‘Sclavonian grebe’
(FBN, 52f.) to gjøðr in accordance with its etymology, making
the latter at least the main form, as suggested by U. Zacharia-
sen, Fróðskaparrit, XV, 80.
Havgás
The name havgás ‘great northern diver’ lit. ‘ocean goose’ is
discussed in FBN, 64f., wihere it is suggested that the name
is most likely a noa term in origin. On the other hand, matters
are complicated by the presence of tthe name havgassa, appa-
rently related.
The name ‘ocean goose’ strikes one as a most peculiar desig-
nation; it is at once vague and quite ridiculous. But perhaps
wc- here have a clue to the correct understanding of the name.
First, a semantic parallel. In Manx Gaelic, this bird is called
arrag vooar lit. ‘big pullet’. In Man as in Faroe, much super-
stition was associated with this solitary diver. The fishermen
of both places will often have started at its loud madman’s
laugh and speculated apprehensively on what it might portend.